Edmonton Oilers Talk: Chiarelli vs. Holland, 2022 UFA Class, Eichel, and Beauvillier

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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The Hockey Writers (Couch)

Holland vs Chiarelli

Signings

Milan Lucic was signed to a seven-year deal that came to $7 million average annual value (AAV).
Chiarelli pulled the trigger on signing Leon Draisaitl at the perfect time, with his contract of $8.5 million AAV looking like a total steal for what he brings to the table as one of the best players in the world now.
As the last straw for Chiarelli before he was fired, he signed Mikko Koskinen to a three-year deal worth $4.5 million AAV before he had even played a complete season with the team…
Darnell Nurse has been signed twice under Holland’s management — the first on a two-year bridge deal, paying him $5.6 million AAV… The second deal is considered very questionable… Nurse was signed to an eight-year extension worth $9.25 million AAV.
Holland was able to bring back longtime Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a very team-friendly deal.
Zach Hyman is another big signing that Holland made this offseason…
What doesn’t seem like the best signing now is the extension of Zack Kassian to a four-year deal paying him $3.2 million annually.
Jesse Puljujarvi is one player who struggled to find his game at the NHL level under Chiarelli’s management and decided to go back home to play. Then, under Holland, was able to reach a low-risk, high-reward deal that brought the former fourth-overall pick in 2016 back to the team with a fresh start.

Good Trades

Chiarelli did bring in a starting goalie in Talbot for cheap, considering the only draft pick that turned into anything was Jonas Siegenthaler.
Kassian was acquired in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens that saw Ben Scrivens go the other way.
Chiarelli seemed to pull off a steal in acquiring Pat Maroon from the Anaheim Ducks in February 2016. The Oilers sent Martin Gernat…
Chiarelli seemingly stocked up the goalie prospects in the minors for the Oilers, acquiring Stuart Skinner, Oliver Rodrigue, and Ilya Konovalov.
Holland’s first deal in Edmonton saw the team acquire James Neal from the Calgary Flames for Lucic.
Holland has traded all three of the defensive draft steals that Chiarelli chose in 2015; Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, and John Marino.

Bad Deals

On Day 1 of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, he sent a mid first-round pick in 2015 (16th overall) and a high second-round pick in 2015 (33rd) to the New York Islanders for a defenceman, Griffin Reinhart…
The fans seemed to have turned on Justin Schultz after he regressed by a large margin in 2015-16, his last with the Oilers. Chiarelli traded him for a third-round pick in that year’s draft halfway through the season.
Probably the infamous trade that everybody in Edmonton knows Peter Chiarelli for is the 1-for-1 swap of Taylor Hall and Adam Larsson.
Longtime Oiler Jordan Eberle’s trade to the Islanders was the start of an ugly succession that saw Eberle turn into Ryan Spooner under Chiarelli’s watch.
The last trade that Chiarelli pulled off in Edmonton was trading away a hard-working winger in Drake Caggiula in a 2-for-2 trade that brought back Brandon Manning…
A draft steal in Marino was sent to Pittsburgh by Holland for a sixth-round pick.
Holland made a deal with his former team, Detroit, and traded for Andreas Athanasiou. Athanasiou struggled to produce after coming over and didn’t re-sign with the Oilers. Edmonton sent back two mid-second-round picks that have turned into Brock Faber and Aatu Raty.
With a chance to draft the goalie of the future and a guy who was the top ranked goaltender entering the 2021 Draft, Holland elected to trade the 20th-overall pick to the Minnesota Wild for the 22nd and 90th picks that year. This allowed the Wild to draft Jesper Wallstedt, and Edmonton had to settle for a forward in Xavier Bourgault and another defensive prospect in Luca Munzenberger.

Draft Steals

2015 4th round (117)- Caleb Jones
2015 5th round (124)- Ethan Bear
2015 6th round (154)- John Marino
2017 3rd round (78)- Stuart Skinner
2017 3rd round (84)- Dmitri Samorukov
2018 2nd round (40)- Ryan McLeod
2019 3rd round (85)- Ilya Konovalov
2020 4th round (100)- Carter Savioe
2020 5th round (126)- Tyler Tullio

Draft Busts

2016 1st round (4)- Jesse Puljujarvi

Summary

Chiarelli did more harm than good for Edmonton, and that’s a big reason why fans wanted him out. Hopefully, many more years of Holland in Edmonton are to come to try and recapture his former glory and return the Oilers to their dynasty days!

BLH’s Thoughts: What’s going to piss some Oilers fans off is that there are going to be some Chiarelli-era players and staff members on this team if they win a Stanley Cup before Leon Draisaitl’s contract expires and furthermore, Chiarelli deserves some credit for some of the success the team is having now.

That being said, when everything’s done and dusted, Ken Holland will be the main credit for the Oilers triumphs and that’s because for the next five or so years, the majority of the pieces on this roster will have his fingerprints all over them.

What will be interesting to see with the remainder of Holland’s tenure is how well the draft picks will turn out, but we won’t know that until 2023 maybe. I’m also curious to know if Duncan Keith will be the next Butch Goring…

Sports Illustrated (Chen)

Previewing the 2022 NHL UFA Class: Over-30 Edition

Phil Kessel, Arizona Coyotes, $6.8 million AAV: Kessel could be a good playoff rental and the Coyotes have cap space to retain salary. Despite 15 seasons in the NHL, this is the first time Kessel gets to explore free agency, and it’ll be interesting to see which teams pursue him.

Joe Pavelski, Dallas Stars, $7 million AAV and Alexander Radulov, Dallas Stars, $6.25 million AAV: …by the end of the season the Stars will have to decide if they want to keep their Cup window open by retaining their veterans or shift towards a youth movement. Both players are still in the hunt for their first ring and certainly have the ability to keep playing.

Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning, $5.3 million AAV: When Brayden Point’s $9.5-million AAV extension kicks in for the 2022-23 season, it won’t leave much room for Palat.

Nazem Kadri, Colorado Avalanche, $4.5 million AAV: His skill set will be in demand, but his new team – should he leave the Avs – have to consider how his past behavior may negatively affect the team.

Jason Spezza, Toronto Maple Leafs, $750,000 AAV and Joe Thornton, Florida Panthers, $750,000 AAV: At 42 and 38 years old, respectively, both continue to defy the odds and find ways to contribute despite their limited playing time. They’re going season-by-season, but we shall see if a full 82-game schedule starts to wear them down.

P.K. Subban, New Jersey Devils, $9 million AAV: Subban won’t attract lucrative offers anymore, but as a right-hand shot with plenty of mobility, he could be a serviceable No. 3 or 4 defenseman, provided his new team and coach can stomach his swashbuckling style.

Mark Giordano, Seattle Kraken, $6.75 million AAV: If Giordano plays well and the Kraken live up to lofty expectations, re-signing him is an easy decision. But at 37 years old, Giordano likely doesn’t have many seasons left in him, and his role and production had diminished over his final two seasons with the Flames.

Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators, $3.75 million AAV: A lot of Ekholm’s future will be tied with the Preds’ success; remember, Ekholm’s name was in the rumor mill when the Preds were toying with the idea of being sellers at the trade deadline. Could the same happen again this season? Ekholm and Filip Forsberg, who is also a UFA in 2022, could fetch quite the return.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Chicago Blackhawks, $7 million AAV: Fleury is still an elite goalie, but it would also seem awfully incongruous to not see him return to Pittsburgh and retire alongside Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, even if it means he has to sign a deal with an AAV well below his market value.

Darcy Kuemper, Colorado Avalanche, $3.5 million AAV and Pavel Francouz, Colorado Avalanche, $2 million AAV: If Kuemper can stay healthy, he can earn a lucrative contract on a talented team, but that’s a big if for the 31-year-old who has played more than 31 games just once in nine seasons. The good news is, should both goalies falter, the Avs enter the 2022 summer with a clean slate and will be free to go in a completely different direction if need be.

Braden Holtby, Dallas Stars, $2 million AAV: There’s a logjam in net though Ben Bishop’s status is TBD and Jake Oettinger is still on his entry-level deal, so perhaps there’s a chance for Holtby to remain in Dallas long term provided he regains his form.

Jack Campbell, Toronto Maple Leafs, $1.65 million AAV: With Morgan Rielly also set to become a free agent in 2022, the Leafs don’t have a lot of cap flexibility and if Campbell has another outstanding season, they’ll have a hard time re-signing him.

BLH’s Thoughts: There’s a chance the Edmonton Oilers could get in on one or more of these vets if they make it deep into the playoffs in 2021-22. I say that because there’s no chance in hell that they come to Edmonton on a cheap contract if the team isn’t a Stanley Cup contender and I’d venture a guess that IF they do venture into the UFA market, it might be for a goalie… Again… Third time’s a charm after missing out on Markstrom and Kuemper?

The Daily Goal Horn

On Jack Eichel

According to John Vogl who covers the Sabres for The Athletic, there haven’t been many trade negotiations. He also admits that GM Kevyn Adams may need to lower his demands in order to make something happen.

“Obviously, no one has met it these last fourth months (or the last 12 if you’re the Rangers). Despite words to the contrary, Adams knows he can’t bring Eichel back,” he writes. “While I wouldn’t say he has to “become realistic,” I would say the GM needs to lower his demands at least a little. It’s understandable why he hasn’t — you get only one chance to trade a franchise center — but no one else is blinking.”

On Anthony Beauvillier

Beauvillier, 24, has become a key player for the Isles. This past season he scored 28 points in 47 games and appears to only be getting better. While there is little chance he will be receiving an offer sheet, teams are interested in trying to acquire him.

The Ottawa Senators have been linked and may be willing to make a deal if Lamoriello is in a cap bind and Beauvillier is a casualty because of it. Don’t think it will happen? You just need to look down the Midtown Tunnel and see what the Rangers did with Pavel Buchnevich.